|
 Marcus and Anthony Glover, sons of late Carol Glover, filed the
suit in federal court in the nation's capitol, alleging the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority failed to take proper
precautions to prevent the incident or respond quickly enough
afterward.
"As a direct and proximate result of defendant WMATA's negligence,
Ms. Glover was trapped, helpless [...] for nearly 45 minutes as it
filled with smoke; during this time she fought, ever more
agonizingly, to breathe as the smoke gradually sapped the life from
her body," the complaint said.
A WMATA spokeswoman declined to comment on the suit, citing the
ongoing nature of the litigation.
 The Jan. 12 accident occurred in a tunnel near the L'Enfant Plaza
station. Federal investigators blamed the smoke on electrical arcing
from the charged third rail. More than 80 people were overcome by
smoke. Only Glover died.
Earlier, at least one rider filed a separate suit against the
transit agency. His attorney said the case aimed to determine the
cause of the accident and evaluate the emergency response.
The acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board,
Christopher Hart, said last week that irregularities were found in
the ventilation system of Washington's subway after the incident.
[to top of second column] |
Congress members whose home districts are serviced by the Washington
area's transit system, known as Metrorail, have said ventilation
fans apparently drew smoke into rail cars, where passengers suffered
smoke inhalation.
The safety board is also examining reports of confused radio
communications between firefighters and transit dispatchers that
might have slowed the emergency response, Hart said.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Richard
Borsuk)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
